


Into the Sunset

by skargasm



Series: Taming the Muse [25]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, LJ Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 20:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2124306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skargasm/pseuds/skargasm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Could he take what she was offering?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Sunset

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ronniemarie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronniemarie/gifts), [TheLadyMerlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyMerlin/gifts).



“I’m going to teach you how to bend.” 

That’s what she’d said but perhaps she had taught him way more than that already. Lying in the darkness, the warmth of Braeden’s body resting against his own, Derek found himself unable to sleep. He knew what she was offering—she had made it perfectly plain. It wasn’t just about a job anymore, not for either of them. And him turning human wasn’t necessarily the tragedy it had seemed to be. 

She wanted to teach him how to survive in the world she lived in—why would she want to do that if he wasn’t going to be part of that world? The Benefactor may have stolen $117million but that wasn’t all of the Hale’s money. Derek could go anywhere, do anything he wanted. Change his name and start afresh, away from the chaos and the madness. 

But of course he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t be aware of the struggle Scott and the rest of the pack were facing and just walk away. He couldn’t leave without knowing exactly what Peter was up to. He couldn’t leave with Kate still around, complete with her pet Berserkers, and not try to do something to help. And Braeden had said that she was going to help him, make it possible for him to protect himself and the people he cared about. Train him in how to be a human in a supernatural world—how to survive in that world. 

Somehow he couldn’t see her settling down, big house and white picket fence. But he could see something that hazily looked like a future with her. Working to help packs like Scott’s and Satomi’s—a bridge between the hunters and the supernatural world. Braeden was already something like that, in a bounty hunter kind of way. There was nothing to stop it turning into an arbitration kind of way. And she hadn’t seemed averse. Not that they’d talked for long. 

He looked down at her in the light from the moon. She looked so peaceful as she slept, the scars on her face and neck livid against the smooth brown skin. Beautiful. Strong and beautiful. Her body was covered in scars—the kind of scars he would have if he hadn’t possessed werewolf healing ability. He’d traced them all but wanted to do so again. Wanted to learn the story behind each one. Wanted to kiss them better. She made him feel like he could make her life better. He hadn’t felt like that in a very long time. 

Did he want what she was offering? If at the end of all of this, if he didn’t get his werewolf powers back, did he want to ride off into the sunset with her, into a new future? Could he do something that selfish, actually have something for himself and not feel guilty? He wasn’t sure. But he knew he wanted to try.

But would she want him if he gained his powers back? What if she only wanted the human version of Derek?

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Her voice was soft in the darkness and he stared at the quiet beauty of her face. 

“What you offered. Whether or not it was dependent – on things.”

“What things?” He could almost feel her searching gaze on his face. “Oh, I see. You want to know if _this_ would have happened if you were your normal self.”

“Maybe. No. Yes.”

“We didn’t really meet under circumstances that gave you the advantage—you, aged fifteen probably was too confused to know what was going on. And since then, you’ve been concentrating pretty hard on this deadpool thing.”

“And?”

“You missed out on what your senses would have told you—about how I feel about you, what I wanted from you the moment I saw you.” 

“Are you always this blunt?”

“Yes. Why – don’t you like it?”

“I do actually – it makes a nice change to know exactly what someone wants from me, what they expect.” She grinned, her teeth gleaming white in her face. Her hand came up and without thinking he tilted his head, eyes closed as he enjoyed her stroking touch. She relaxed him, soothed him. And the part of him that was still a wolf, the part of him that would always be a wolf, agreed with him. For the first time ever, he felt what it was like to have all parts of himself in agreement. “So, you’re offering me a passport to another life.”

“Not so much _another_ life—just a different pathway to the one you’re on. I can’t promise safety, stability – hell, I can’t tell you where we’ll be once we leave here.” 

“But?”

“You intrigue me Derek. I know all about your history but I would really like to know more about you. And I think you feel the same. So – what do you say? Do you think you could leave your pack behind – wolf or human, and take a risk?” He stared at her, trying to sense whether she meant what she was saying, what she was offering. And it was all there, out in the open. Braeden was exactly who she said she was – nothing more, nothing less.

“And if I become a werewolf again, and there’s a bounty on my head, what then?” 

“Somehow I don’t think there’s enough money in the world to make me decide to take that job.” He lowered his head, pressing his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. There was no sense of urgency, no mad desire overtaking his senses. Just a feeling of rightness, a feeling inside of want, a need to get closer. For a moment, he felt the loss of his other senses acutely, wanting to know what she smelled like to his wolf, wanting to bathe himself in everything about her. He pressed his face to her neck, appreciating her openness as she arched her head back and gave him access. Her pulse didn’t flicker as he mouthed over it, the implicit trust going to his head. 

He lifted away from her, looking into her eyes. Scott was becoming an amazing Alpha. Peter would get up to what he would get up to regardless of whether or not Derek was here. And Kate—Kate was Chris Argent’s problem. He refused to let her poison any more of his life—whether he got back what she had taken from him or not. Just once, he was going to do what was right for him.

“I think I’m willing to learn how to bend.”

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Those scenes between Derek and Braeden in Season 4, Episode 8 wrote this story in my head—I liked seeing Derek content for once. And I liked the chemistry between them - those scenes with the two of them were hot.
> 
> This 'hopeful' piece of nothing is dedicated to theladymerlin who has always been there for me, encouraging me to keep going and to Ronnie who reminded me every week how much closer I was to my goal and told me I could get there. Thank you both. This represents story 208 in my tamingthemuse run which means I have written something every week for four years without a break. Hoo yeah! 
> 
> Taming the Muse prompt: Passport  
> Writing week: 208


End file.
